Garment



M. LONDON Nov. 28, 1939.

GARMENT Filed Jan. '17, 1938 Meyer- London INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

enlarged cross-section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig..

Patented Nov. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The invention relates to garments and particularly to ladies dresses. In all ladies or misses dresses it is necessary to provide a waist line which will be capable of expansion so as to permit the dress to be passed over the head and bust in putting it on the wearer. The commonly used method of accomplishing this expensive feature is by an opening in the center of the front and extending below the standard waist line, or by an opening in the side under the arm and extending from a point above to a point below the standard waist line. These openings are closed by buttons, snaps or hooks and eyes. Another method is to cut the material so that the standard waist line will be two or three inches larger than necessary, and thereby permit the passage of the dress over the head and bust of the wearer. A belt is applied over the waist line and drawn up to adjust the dress to the waist line, gathers being formed in the material around saidline.

The latter method does not produce a smooth, neat or slenderlzed waist line and the other methods of using fasteners to close an' opening is unsatisfactory and objectionable since the material frequently gapes at the opening producing an unpleasant appearance and, also, the fasteners frequently fail to hold.

The object of my invention is to provide a dress with an elastic waist line which may be expanded in putting on the dress and which automatically retracts to fit the form of the wearer at her waist line, giving the appearance of a streamline, slenderized form-fitted dress and thereby eliminating all openings and the unpleasant and unsatisfactory task of using buttons, snaps or hooks and eyes to close said openings and eliminating all gathers or shirring.

The invention consists in the novel provision of vertical elastic-seamed pleats at the waist line of a dress as hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawing, in which drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the back of a dress having the invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an 3 is a fractional view of a dress illustrating a dart in expanded condition and Fig. 4 is a cross-section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the illustrative embodiment of the invention, l represents the back of a dress, having the waist line indicated at 2. Assuming, for example, that the bust measurement is 32 inches and the waist line is 29 inches which are standardized measurements for size It, provislon must be made to permit the expansion of of the waist line to 32 inches in order that the wearer may put on or take off the garment. I provide this expansion by forming a suitable number of vertical pleats 3 at the waist line. The pleats extend both above and below the waist line any selected distance and theyare spaced laterally in any selected manner.

Each pleat is formed by pleating the fabric on the wrong side at the selected point and sewing the two portions of the pleat 3 together with elastic thread 4, such as rubberized thread. The vertical seam 5 is preferably in the form of an arc with the opposite ends of the are extending to or approximating the outer edge of the pleat. The pleat is on the inside of the garment and the 15 seam closes the two side portions of the pleat so that normally there is no gap in the fabric at the waist line.

To put on the garment the wearer will insert her hands into the dress at the lower open end 20 and engage them on the opposite sides of the dress at the waist line. By moving the hands or arms outwardly, a lateral strain is placed on the waist line and the elastic seams stretch laterally, thereby expanding the said waist line and permitting the passage of the garment over the shoulders and bust of the wearer. The release of the lateral pressure on the goods releases the strain on the seams and they immediately close the pleats, affording a smooth form-fitting surface at the waist line, and giving the wearer a sense of security and comfort.

The garment resembles a silhouette with the appearance of a stream-lined, slenderized formfitted dress and all without the use of openings 35 I or gathers or shirring and the labor required in the production of the garment is less than that required in the production of the garment with openings as above described.

' What I claim is:

1. A garment having .inwardly projecting pleats crossing the waist line thereof, the seams of the pleats being formed with elastic thread.

2. A garment having a form-fitting waist line and inwardly projecting elastic seamed vertical pleats on the back of the garment and crossing the said waist line, the seam of each dart extending substantially the length thereof, said seams being formed of rubberized thread.

3. A garment having a form-fitting waist line and laterally spaced inwardly projecting vertical pleats on the back of the garment and crossing the said waist line, the seams of said pleats being formed with rubberized thread.

MEYER. LONDON. 

